A dubious Greek gift

by Jonathan Speelman
1/20/2019 – Fittingly, since the Netherlands is the focus of the chess world this week, a Dutchman is featured in this week's Agony/Ecstasy column. Both games feature bishop sacrifices to attack the castled king. Feel free to send in your own games! Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account! | Image: ChessBase 15 Raytracing
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Speelman's Agony #91

Many thanks first to everybody who's sent games into the drop box in recent weeks. Two requests though: Please include an email address so that I can contact you. And please use either PGN or a compressed ChessBase database CBV. (In ChessBase, click Menu→Database→Backup database, or hit Ctrl+Z.) 

This week's pair of games are by Jan Van den Berg a Dutchman who writes:

I'm from Rotterdam in the Netherlands and only found your articles recently, but always find them very interesting. I have recently turned 40, with two young daughters who are much more interested in playing tennis than chess. My wife, Maria, became concerned that my competitive cycling was taking too much time away from the family so she suggested that I start playing chess again, which I had enjoyed many years ago. She obviously has no idea...

I haven’t played a tournament game for a long time, but the two games I’ve included were both played recently online. Both feature bishop sacrifices to attack the castled king. One of them is excellent, the other is...not.

I am quite proud of the 'ecstasy' game. The sacrifice, which was planned a few moves earlier, was correct and later some tactics all seemed to work for me. The 'agony' game was the opposite. Though the sacrifice was not great, I eventually reached a position where I thought my threats would give me good chances. But my position fell apart after some good tactical finds by my opponent, and with some accurate defence, my fate was sealed. The game finishes with an excellent combination by Black.

Jan annotated both games excellently, mainly using his own ideas but occasionally including some “engine-generated subtleties.” I've left his notes almost completely intact and added a few comments of my own which I've scrupulously marked as by JS.

These were a very enjoyable pair of games to work on and please do keep sending me your own either to the drop box or direct to my email.

We start with the Agony:

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5
5.f3!? I got this idea after reading Correspondence W. Ch. Hans Berliners book entitled 'The System'. Objectively it's fairly rubbish, but it often leads to a more open game than regular Slav lines e6 a passive option which, surprisingly, is played by some fairly strong players 6.e4 Nc6 7.e5 Nd7 8.f4 White should be happy with the opening so far. He has a strong centre which Black will have difficulty putting pressure on. Incredibly, this position was first reached in Michell - Przepiorka, Marienbad 1925, but with colours reversed! Black had saved a tempo by playing f7-f5 in one move. JS We've got some sort of French where Black has exchanged c-pawns extremely - probably much too - early so it should be nice for White. Be7 9.Nf3 a6 10.Bd3 b5 and this is the first deviation from games in the database 11.0-0 Nb6 12.b3 controlling c4 0-0
13.Bxh7+? it seemed like a good idea at the time, but the engine just laughs at me JS Yes Jan did get some play but the Greek bishop sacrifice meeds pieces to follow it up and here with the bishop controlling g5 (and so ready to capture Ng5) it ought not to work. White should prefer something like 13.Ne2!? threatening 14.Qc2 g6 14.g4 with good chances for a kingside attack 13...Kxh7 14.Ng5+ Bxg5 15.fxg5 g6! Black prepares ... Kg7 and Rh8. I am hoping that if I move all my pieces over to the kingside I might be able to sacrifice something to break through. The problem is that my bishop won't have any targets, so the sacrifice is ultimately unsound 16.Qe1 Kg7 17.Rf4 17.Qh4 Rh8 18.Qf4 may have been a more promising setup JS Yes White does have real play. Indeed Houdini is giving Black only half a pawn which is very little when he is a piece for just one pawn ahead. 17...b4 18.Nd1 a5 19.Nf2 the knight is on its way a4 20.Rb1 axb3 21.axb3
21...Ne7 JS This is very difficult because both sides are building up quite slowly but there will surely be an explosion. I asked Hoiudini which actually preferred Ba6 immediately to the obvious Ra2 followed by Ba6 and got these lines: 21...Ra2 22.Ng4 Ba6 23.Qh4 Rh8 24.Nh6 Qc7 25.Be3 Bd3 26.Rc1 Nc4! 27.Rf2 27.bxc4 b3 28.cxd5 b2 27...Rxf2 28.Qxf2 Nxe3 29.Rxc6 Qb7 30.Qf6+ Kh7 31.Rb6 Qa7 21...Ba6! prevents the immediate Ng4 due to Bd3 and is stronger because White isn't in time to get coordinated. 22.Ng4 22.Qe3 Ne7 23.Ng4 Nf5 22...Bd3 23.Qh4 Rh8 24.Nh6 Qc7-+ 22.Ng4 Nd7 23.Nf6 Rh8 24.Qxb4 Nf5 24...Ra2 25.Be3 Nf5 26.Bf2 Ba6 JS is a fairly normal looking line. 25.g4 Ne7 Another option was 25...Nh4!? when it's not easy to remove the knight on h4, but it may become stuck there without much to contribute 26.Qc3 26.Qe1 avoids the tactic that occurred in the game, but Black is still better after Nc6 26...Qb6 27.Qf2 Nxe5 28.dxe5 27.Qf2 27.Be3 Qb6 28.Qf2 Nxf6 29.Rxf6 Ra7 27...Nxf6 28.Rxf6 Qe8 JS Yes White is rather running out of ammunition here though it's still far from trivial. 28...Ra7 29.Ba3 26...Qb6
27.Qf3? if I was wearing a heart rate monitor like the Isle of Man participants, I wonder what it would be saying around here? White has some pressure on the backward f-pawn and if black defends with 27...Rf8, then white may be able to use the h-file instead. 27.Bb2 JS When I consulted an engine, I expected it to assess the position as very good for Black but White does have dark squares and the f-file and in fact Houdini was giving Black less than half a pawn. It suggested Bb2 and if Nxe5 simply doubling rooks: Nxe5 28.Rbf1 Ba6 29.Qe3 Qb8 30.R1f2 Nxg4 31.Nxg4 Nf5 and Black has stopped the attack on its tracks but returned the piece to do so. 27...Nxe5! But there's a pin! 27...Rf8 28.Be3 Ra7 29.Qf2 the simple 29.h4 is also playable Ba6 30.h5 though the lines after gxh5 are anything but simple! 31.Nxh5+ 31.gxh5 31...Kg8 32.Nf6+ Kg7 33.Kf2 Bd3! 34.Rh1 Ra2+ 35.Kg3 Qb5 36.Rh6 Bg6 37.Qh1 Qd3 38.Rf3 Qb1 and here I think White's best is 39.Rxg6+ Qxg6 40.Qh6+ Qxh6 41.gxh6+ Kh8 42.Nxd7 Rd8 43.Nc5 Rg8 44.Rxf7 Nf5+ 45.Rxf5 exf5 46.g5 Kh7 47.Nd7 Kg6 48.Nf6 Rd8 49.e6 29...Ba6 30.Rf3 intending Rh3. The computer suggests Qd8 31.Rh3 Rh8 32.Rh6! Rxh6 33.gxh6+ Kh8 34.Nxd7 and White is much better 28.Qf2?! Nd3! and that's a fork. Now it's time to start throwing pieces and see if I can knock something over (not really, this game was played online) 29.Nh5+ Kg8 30.Nf6+ Kf8 31.Nd7+ Bxd7 32.Rxf7+ Kg8 33.Qf6 Rh7! this move gives up the knight to parry White's mating threats 34.Rxh7 Kxh7 35.Qxe7+ Kg8 36.Be3 defending the d4 pawn and preparing Rf1 Qd8! 36...Rf8!? 37.Qxd7 Ne5‼ there's that pin again 38.Qe7 Nxg4 39.Re1 Rf7 40.Qc5 Qxb3 41.Qc1 Qd3 42.Qc8+ Kg7 43.Qxe6 Qc3 44.Bc1 Qxd4+ 45.Be3 Qc3 46.Bb6 Qd2 47.Qe2 Qxg5 is a ridiculous line that also favours Black, but is not as good as the game continuation 37.Qd6 37.Qxd8+ Rxd8 I don't like my chances in the endgame JS Of course Jan was right to keep the queens on. Excahnging them would have been capitulation 37...Qe8 38.Rf1 Ra2 39.Rf3 Bb5 40.Rf6 Ra1+ 41.Kg2
41...Ra6! it's becoming clear that I will lose this game JS Yes this nice active defensive move breaks White's attack. 42.Qc7 Rc6 43.Qa5 Rc2+ 44.Kh3 Re2 45.Bg1 Qb8! a good move, defending the bishop as well as setting up the final tactic which I fall right into 46.Rxg6+ Kh7 47.Rh6+ Kg7 48.Rf6 and here comes the final combination... Nf4+! The fastest win. Mate in 20, apparently 49.Rxf4 Qxf4 50.Qxb5 Qf1+ the point of the combination. Black sets up a discovered attack on the white queen 51.Kh4
51...Rxh2+ White resigns JS A terrific battle in which Jan's Greek gift sacrifice was dubious (or probably simply bas in a higher sense) but gave him very real chances in a practical game. Both players fought very hard and ingeniously and while it was a shame for Jan that he finally lost, I hope that it wasn't really that "Agonising". 51...Rxh2+ 52.Bxh2 Qxb5 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Van den Berg,J-Vitali-0–1 D10
Van den Berg,J-Giuliano-1–0 C05

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This DVD gives you the key to start out with the French Defence. GM Yannick Pelletier is a specialist of this opening, and believes that the most efficient way to understand its ideas, plans, and typical structures is to study classical lines.

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Jonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.

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